Duke Energy to Clean Up, Close Coal Ash Pits

Duke Energy officials told state regulators Tuesday it plans to remove coal ash from one of its South Carolina waste pits and close two additional ones, according to Power Engineering.

Duke has ash pits at two power plants in the state. The W.S. Lee plant, which is set to convert to natural gas within a year, has three unlined pits – two that are still in operation and one that was closed in the early 1970s. The other is at an already closed plant in Darlington County where the ash pit has dried up.

Mike Ruhe of Duke said the company will move waste from the site’s inactive dump to a lined pit. The company also plans to close the two remaining dumps, but is still studying the options.

Duke decided to inspect all its ash pits after a coal ash spill at the utility’s Eden, N.C. plant earlier this year coated over 70 miles of the Dan River with gray material.

Ruhe told regulators the utility is moving waste from the inactive pit to a lined one because of the site’s close proximity to the river. He also said the company has identified some safety concerns with the site’s earthen dams.

Although coal ash contains toxic chemicals, Ruhe noted that toxicity is dose-dependent, and told the commission that coal ash doesn’t pose a public health risk.

However, when pressed by a commission member about groundwater contaminated with coal ash, Ruhe admitted contamination would make the groundwater potentially unsafe to drink.

One thought on “Duke Energy to Clean Up, Close Coal Ash Pits”

So happy for South Carolina. Unfortunately we here at North Carolina have at least 10 coal ash pits which need to be either cleaned up or at least dramatically improve in order to avoid the recurrence of the Dan River escapade from last January.